Hero
There are 3 different types of units in Master of Magic: Heroes, Normal Units, and Fantastic Units. Heroes behave in many ways like Normal Units, but they have important differences as well. For instance, you can never have more than one of any given hero and they are the only units capable of using Magical Items. Heroes also are the only units which have Random Abilities. Experience Levels function somewhat differently on Heroes than other units. Heroes have a maximum of ( ). Heroes are divided into 5 Tiers roughly based on their required and maximum stats: Low Level Heroes (0 Fame), Mid Level Heroes (5-10 Fame), High Level Heroes (5-20 Fame), Mid Level Champions and High Level Champions also . Champions never appear as a Prisoner, nor in response to the Summon Hero spell. Mid Level Champions and High Level Champions can be received by casting the Summon Champion spell. Description Heroes are mortal adventurers on Arcanus and Myrror with outstanding talents. Like other flesh-and-blood residents of the two worlds, heroes gain experience, but their extensive skill-training and their ability to manage magical artifacts will carry them far beyond the reach of ordinary troops. There are thirty-five unique "classes" of heroes. Each Wizard has access to his own copy of that hero-class; e.g., the "Thief" acquainted with the human player is named Theria, while those attached to rival Wizards are named Shadow, Misty, Doria, and Tamara. These are, in fact, five separate individuals whose random abilities (if any) will vary, and whatever transpires in-game with one has no impact on the others. Many of the heroes appear to come from specific racial stock. They clearly have a professional background in some type of military unit trained by that race, such as Roland the Paladin, or are just exemplary nobles and war leaders of their kind, like Gunther the Barbarian. Other heroes follow special callings and would never have served au régiment, such as the Amazon, the War Monk, the Sage, or the Necromancer. Finally, there are odd beings who hail from the outer realms or whose origins are entirely open to speculation, like the Golden One or the Chaos Warrior. Despite their disparate backgrounds, heroes are invariably mounted and carry a standard. The only hero not seated ahorse is Fang the Draconian, whose steed (as befits his race) is a Doom Drake. The wise wizard should put heroes in roles suited to their abilities and guard their lives carefully. Heroes can (variously) explore, train and support the army, lend their renown to the wizard's cause, or work closely with him on his projects in the Fortress. Only the toughest and best-equipped heroes can be dispatched as lone battle units. Acquiring a Hero There are five methods of acquiring a Hero. All of them will fail if you currently have six Heroes, or no appropriate Heroes exist in the game. Heroes as Mercenaries There is a chance every turn that a Hero will show up for hire, depending on your , whether you are Famous, and how many Heroes you already have; the odds may be summarized as follows: The underlying formula is: A Hero will only show up as a mercenary if you have sufficient . In addition, if your supply is insufficient to hire that Hero, the game will silently treat it as if you refused to hire that Hero. Torin the Chosen can never appear as a Mercenary. Hiring Fee The hiring fee is based on the applicant's fame requirement and whether, for whatever reason, he already has experience (each level effectively adding 25 percent to the base cost). Rejected Heroes If a hero approaches you through the normal hiring routine (not summoned) and you reject it, the next time the hero appears it will have gained a full level of experience, as it spent some time adventuring after your rejection. This also occurs silently if a hero would have appeared as a mercenary but you lacked the cash to hire it, and will not occur if the hero is already a (note that the effects of Warlord and/or Crusade are not applied until after the hero has been hired, which would immediately increase that hero to a or ). The hiring fee of an experienced hero is increased as noted in the "Heroes as Mercenaries" section above. Prisoner It is possible for a Hero to appear as Treasure; this will be a random hero who is not currently employed or dead and has a requirement of 20 or lower. Such a hero will immediately be available for hire, for free. Your personal has no effect. Summon Hero The Summon Hero spell will immediately summon a hero; again, this will be a random hero who is not currently employed or dead and has a requirement of 20 or lower. Such a hero will immediately be available for hire, for free. Your personal has no effect. Summon Champion The Summon Champion spell behaves identically to Summon Hero, except that it will try to summon one of the Fame heroes, and will only summon a lesser hero if it fails to find one. Your personal has no effect. However, Elana the Priestess and Roland the Paladin will only show up, if you've got at least Spellbook. Mortu the Black Knight and Ravashack the Necromancer will only show up, if you've got at least Spellbook. Also note, that Mystic X the Unknown is summoned by Summon Champion and not Summon Hero, although he has a requirement of 20. Resurrection The Resurrection spell, unlike other methods of summoning a hero, is not random; instead, it will summon a Hero who died in your service. Heroes who were killed by Irreversible Damage (Cracks Call, Disintegrate, Stoning Damage) cannot be resurrected. The Hero returns at its prior experience and level, but without any equipment. Incarnation The spell Incarnation summons Torin the Chosen, if he is not already in your service, or resurrects him if he died in your service. Unlike the Resurrection spell, this works even if he was killed by Irreversible Damage. This is the only way to acquire Torin the Chosen. Reloading The hero from Prisoner, Summon Hero, and Summon Champion is randomly determined when the hero becomes available; thus, it is possible to reload from immediately before receiving a Hero by one of those methods, and get a different Hero the next time. Note, however, that Hero Abilities are determined at game start and cannot be rerolled in this way. Hero Equipment Hero equipment falls into the following categories: Weapons All heroes have a single weapon slot, which may be one of the following: Melee Weapon A melee weapon slot may hold a Sword, Axe, or Mace, and adds to a Hero's . An Axe also adds to a Hero's , if any. Missile Weapon A missile weapon slot may hold a Melee Weapon (in which case it acts as one) or a Bow, which adds to a Hero's . Staff Weapon A staff weapon slot may hold a Staff or Wand, which adds to a Hero's . Sword/Staff Weapon A sword/staff weapon slot may hold either a melee weapon or a staff, and functions as whatever equipment type is in the slot. Armor Any hero who does not have a staff weapon slot will have a single armor slot, which may hold any Shield, Chainmail, or Platemail. Armor slot items usually add to . Jewelry All heroes have a Jewelry slot, which can hold a single item of Jewelry. A hero with a staff weapon slot has 2 Jewelry slots. Hero Abilities Most heroes have one or more Hero Abilities, unique abilities that are specific to heroes. Many of them improve with level. Random Abilities Many Heroes have random abilities. A hero with Fighter random abilities gets a random ability from the Fighter and Any categories below, a hero with Mage random abilities gets a random ability from the Mage and Any category, a hero with Fighter/Mage random abilities may get any ability on the table. List of Hero Abilities All abilities except Caster, Charmed, Lucky, and Noble may be received twice as a Super Ability, and increase their benefits by 50% if so. Caster may be received any number of times, and adds per Experience Level each time it is received. List of Heroes * Due to a bug, this spell is not actually received. Category:Units Category:Reference Category:Game Concepts